Detroit Free Press Business Writer

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General Motors wants to more than triple its Cadillac sales in China by 2015 after appointing a new global leader for the brand.

The automaker today revealed a goal of selling more than 100,000 Cadillacs in China in 2015.

In 2012, GM sold 30,010 Cadillacs in China, exactly two more than it sold in 2011 despite 11.3% growth for overall GM vehicle sales in China last year.

The company this week started production of the Cadillac XTS at a plant in Shanghai. A plant in Oshawa, Ontario, began manufacturing the vehicle last year for sale in North America. The XTS, a large sedan, reached U.S. showrooms in mid-2012.

In October, GM CEO Dan Akerson promoted chief lobbyist Bob Ferguson to vice president for global Cadillac. Among his biggest responsibilities is boosting the brand’s reputation in China, where the average Cadillac buyer is 34 years old, pays with cash and is buying a vehicle for the first time.

GM is also expected to introduce the compact Cadillac ATS to the Chinese market.

GM China President Bob Socia said Cadillac’s potential in China has been limited until now.

“We haven’t had the product we would’ve liked to have had,” he said in an interview last month. “Even with the limited portfolio we have right now the dealers are willing to make the investment because they see the potential for the brand.”

GM has about 150 Cadillac dealers in China after adding about 90 last year and plans to add another 100 in the next two years.

In China, German brands BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz dominate the luxury segment.

But Ferguson said in a recent interview that Chinese car buyers will embrace American luxury.

“I think some people intuitively felt the way to sell Cadillacs there is somehow to make Cadillac have more of a Chinese aura,” he said. “In fact, I think we’re learning the opposite, which is that they’re interested in the product because it is American luxury.”